GE, Sandia National Lab discover path to quieter, more productive wind turbines

October, 2013 - altenerg.com

GE Global Research, the technology development arm of General Electric, has announced research that could significantly impact the design of future wind turbine blades.

Utilizing the power of high-performance computing (HPC) to perform complex calculations, GE engineers have overcome previous design constraints, allowing them to begin exploring ways to design re-engineered wind blades that are low-noise and more prolific power-producers.

Partnering with the Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, GE's work focused on advancing wind turbine blade noise prediction methods. Aerodynamic blade noise is the dominant noise source on modern, utility-scale wind turbines and represents a key constraint in wind turbine design. Efforts to reduce blade noise can help reduce the cost of wind energy and increase power output. In fact, GE predicts a 1 decibel quieter rotor design would result in a two-percent increase in annual energy yield per turbine. With approximately 240GW of new wind installations forecasted globally over the next five years, a two-percent increase would create 5GW of additional wind power capacity. That's enough to power every household in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles, combined.

"There's no question, aerodynamic noise is a key constraint in wind turbine blade design today", said Mark Jonkhof, Wind Technology Platform Leader at GE Global Research. "By using high-performance computing to advance current engineering models that are used to predict blade noise, we can build quieter rotors with greater blade tip velocity that produce more power. This not only means lower energy costs for consumers, but also a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions."

Jonkhof added: "Having access to Sandia's supercomputer was invaluable in our ability to conduct these experiments and make discoveries that will bolster wind power's potential. Access and availability to HPC resources offers a critical advantage to companies trying to compete in a global environment."

http://www.ge.com/research